Well mannered Kakashi
by Kurosuisen
Summary: Kakashi is famous of always being late and reading perverted books in work. No one would call him well-mannered. What if he decides that it's time to change?
1. Prolog

**Author's Note: Actually it's my first story in English. I've always written essays for English classes so it's my first trial. I've tried to make it as correct as possible by myself, but I'm not sure if I did it well, so feel free to correct me :) **

**Prolog**

"Oh," sighed Iruka when he came back home to see his lover sitting on the floor with a teapot filled with hot, aromatic tea.

One may say there's nothing strange in the picture Iruka had seen, but… If someone have known Kakashi better, he would realize it's uncommon to see him calmly sitting in the living room and drinking green tea.

Kakashi didn't even like green tea!

The jounin was dressed in the pale-blue yukata made of soft, expensive cloth. Iruka had never seen him dressed like that and beside that, he didn't even know Kakashi had something elegant to wear. The only clothes Iruka had seen in a wardrobe were his jounin uniforms, he didn't even have any casual clothes. Silver-haired was holding a little tea cup. The cup looked almost like a toy in his big, masculine hand.

And if that wasn't too much for poor chuunin, he wasn't even drinking the tea. He was sipping it carefully and his uncovered face expressed something Iruka would call pure ecstasy.

Iruka pretended not to notice.

After all, Kakashi was a jounin. Every jounin had something wrong with their minds. Every single one of them was strange. For example – Genma have never stopped sucking his senbon. Even unconscious. One nurse didn't want him to get hurt, so she tried to pull the senbon away from his mouth. He was still unconscious while he twisted her wrist. Anko was hyperactive, addicted to sex and loved to gossip. She knew everything about an intimate life of all Konoha shinobi. And Gai… Well. Gai was just being himself.

And Kakashi was no different.

Firstly, he wore a mask and had only one eye visible for the world. Iruka was probably the only person who was able to read jounin's emotions so perfectly. He could tell what kind of emotions Kakashi's face showed. The Copy Nin didn't like sweets. They made him fell stomachache. He had a strange habit to leave a jar of coffee in the fridge or soak his toothbrush in the lemon juice because he heard it kills bacteria. He also didn't see anything wrong in reading porn right before children eyes.

"Would you like some tea, Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi asked quietly while Iruka had been trying to slip into the kitchen unnoticed. Iruka bite his lips feeling jounin's gaze on his back. Not good. Not good at all. Whatever freaking thing Kakashi had in his mind, Iruka didn't want to have anything to do with it.

"Tea. Would you like some?" Kakashi repeated, glancing at Iruka who slowly turned around to meet his lover's eyes. Hatake had pulled up his mask just in case someone might make an unexpected visit.

"Yeah. I mean… If it's not a problem."

"It's my pleasure, sensei."

Iruka blinked, following every move of Kakashi, watching as he gently takes the kettle and slowly fills the cup with a tea.

Chuunin scratched the scar on his nose, staring at the jounin who finally put the tea cup on the table between them. Once again the thought of how big his hand was comparing to the little cup hit Iruka.

"May I ask you what's that show for?" chuunin asked hesitantly. With a questioning look he was moving the tips of his fingers over the edge of the porcelain cup.

"Show? Maa, Iruka-sensei… This is what well-mannered people do in the evening," Kakashi slowly pulled his mask down to take a little sip of tea. He did it so slowly, that the gesture seemed unbelievable dignified. "Don't you think?"

"Stop calling me 'sensei', Hatake. Everyone knows you're far from being well-mannered."

"From today I am…"

"You're nothing but ridiculous today, Kakashi," Iruka interrupted him, making irritated face. "Where's that stubborn, rude jounin I left here this morning?"

"Don't you dare saying I can't be well-mannered…!" he raised his voice, frowning a little.

"Raising you're voice isn't polite, Kashi," Iruka reproved him quietly.

"Oh, I can be polite if I want to," with one look in Kakashi's eye, chuunin could say that he was pouting. "I'm just… I just have to divide myself in two. I mean… The real, polite me and shinobi me."

Kakashi muttered something to himself and picked up the tea cup. If he wanted to look elegantly in the evening, he had definitely done it wrong. His hair was spiky as always. He seemed as if he had no clue what an obi is, because he didn't tie one on his yukata. He just had worn it as if it was a some kind of robe. And the sleeves. The dark cloth was sticking out of the sleeves rolled up above his elbows.

_Maybe mission Kakashi has came back lately went terribly and now he's acting strange cause he can't get over terrifying him memories_ – Iruka shook his head. That wasn't the point.

Carefully, Iruka lifted the cup, taking a little sip. His eyes went wide and he almost spat it out on the fluffy white carpet. The tea tasted disgusting. Anyone in their right minds wouldn't put sugar into green tea. There was no need to add it - even if green tea is bitter sometimes, sugar makes it taste awfully. Iruka swallowed it down but didn't say anything. Offended Kakashi was the last thing he needed now.

"Listen, Kashi. You can't be well-mannered with your yukata dressed like that," he stated shyly, watching as Kakashi face flush gently. "And… you have to learn, that…" Iruka silenced, looking for the right words. "Sugar makes us unable to feel the unique taste of green tea."

"You still think I can't be well-mannered," Kakashi snorted and took off the yukata. He was even wearing a sweatshirt with Konoha sign. "But, believe me, I can be well-mannered. Wanna bet? Just give me a month and I'll have better manners than those Hyuuga brats!"

And with those words Kakashi left the apartment. Iruka was sitting motionless on the floor in the living room, staring with disbelief at the place where jounin was sitting just a moment ago. He didn't even expect that Hatake was doing his research in a library, looking for a good books about savoir-vivre.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Okay, it took me too long to update it, sorry xP I hope next chapter will be ready sooner, but I can't promise anything. I was ill and I couldn't look on the screen longer than half an hour. In fact, I still can't xP But it didn't stop, so here's the first chapter ^^ Enjoy! ^^ I hope my mistakes won't be really distracting. **

**Chapter 1**

"Hatake-san," the young chuunin sitting beside the desk in the mission room blinked his eyes at the sight of Copy Nin. "I don't mean to be rude or something, but… You're the last person I'd expect here."

"Good morning, Naoki-kun. Have you seen Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi ignored the comment and looked at him from behind his perverted book.

"Nope, not his shift yet" the boy answered with hesitation.

"What a pity he is not here," Kakashi looked really disappointed. He had a paper folder in his hand and with a quiet sigh he took out the mission report from it. He gave it to the guy, squinting his eyes. "If you do not mind, I will have a little request. Could you make sure that Iruka-sensei will see it, please? I would be grateful."

Naoki looked more than surprised. He wasn't sure if there was everything okay with the jounin. Kakashi was never unkind, but it was the first time he heard more than one sentence from him. Hatake would come to the mission room, put his report on the desk and then disappeared. Oh, and sometimes he was also teasing Iruka.

"If she comes here, I can show this report to him, but…"

"I am truly sorry that I cannot talk with you a little longer, but I am worry I will be late for the meeting with my team."

He disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the chuunin speechless with his fingers still clenching the report tightly. Has the world gone crazy or he just had misheard? Kakashi, famous for always being late, was actually worry that he might be late. And he apologized Naoki that he couldn't talk longer. As if they even had the topics to talk about!

He gasped, shocked, when he noticed how the report looked like.

When Iruka didn't appear in the mission room, Naoki had to check a schedule to discover that the teacher had his free day in the mission room. Probably because of late classes. He didn't want to annoy the Hokage, but he just had to show the report to Umino. It was Kakashi's request. He was afraid of Kakashi. And when he had seen the report, he was even more afraid of him.

When his shift was about to end, he hid the report discreetly in his vest, carefully not to crumple it. The chuunin had made his way towards the Academy and quickly found a classroom of his former teacher and knocked on the door gently.

After he had heard a short response, he half-opened the door.

"Iruka-sensei? Sorry I'm disturbing your classes, but may I speak with you for a moment?"

The kids had already started talking to each other happily. One paper shuriken hit the Naoki in the arm, but he just laughed quietly, noticing his brother sitting in the first row. One glance of their sensei was enough to calm them down.

"Naoki-kun? Did something happened?" Iruka looked at the boy worried and turned back to the class. "Kids, read next two pages. I'll be right back. And if you don't, you'll have ten pages essay to write for your homework. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded, so Iruka left the room - only for a few seconds and then opened the door to see Konohamaru standing right behind the door.

"And you, Konohamaru, are going to write an essay about the First Shinobi World War. Now, take your place and start reading," the teacher didn't looked annoyed. He was firm, as always, but every kid in the classroom knew they'll be in trouble if they make him angry.

"But I'm the Great Grandson, Iruka-sensei! I'll be the strongest shinobi in Konoha and I'm going to become the Hokage! You can't just treat me like…"

"Fifteen pages," Iruka interrupted him and closed the door. He clasped Naoki's arm to walk up to the window in the hall. "So, what happened?" the teacher crossed his arms, looking at the boy questioning.

It took Naoki a few seconds before he had finally taken the report out. Iruka's eyes went wide at the sight - he looked around, just to check if someone was near and grabbed the boy by the collar of his vest.

"Do you have any idea that it's illegal to take the reports away from the mission room?" he hissed, looking at the younger chuunin annoyed.

"I just had too. Hatake-san asked me to do it."

_Hatake-san. _Everytime Iruka would heard that Kakashi asked anyone to do something, he knew he should expect the worse.

"Hatake-san wanted me to show it to you. I told him that I'll show it, but I didn't know you're not working today…"

Iruka looked at the report suspiciously and took it into his hands. For a few long second he was silent, his eyes were sliding across the paper.

"Oh, kami." He stuttered out finally, staring at the report with disbelief.

Something must have been really wrong with Kakashi. He had time to turn his report back by the Friday. And it was Wednesday. He would never turn his report back on time. Even when his relationship with Iruka came out, he still had hard times trying to convince the chuunin that his report was perfectly fine. With an innocent smile behind his mask he took out a sloppy, messed and crumpled report. Everytime he did it, Iruka just grabbed him by his jounin vest and kicked out of the mission room. Iruka was warning him that if he won't be given 'a real mission report' by the next morning, the only mission he's going to receive for another year will be simple D-rank ones.

This time there wasn't even any coffee cup stains visible on the report. Even though Kakashi had terribly handwriting, the report was filled unbelievable legibly. He could read every single sign. Signs wasn't perfect, the shape looked as if it was written with hesitant hand of a child, but he had to admit that the jounin must have done his best this time.

Iruka couldn't believe his eyes. When Kakashi said he's going to change, the chuunin didn't really take it seriously. No one would. He had to talk with Kakashi and find out what was in his mind.

"Thank you, Naoki-kun. Now, take it back to the mission room. And, please, be careful, it would be really bad if anyone saw you… I need to get back to class…" he said, hearing a loud explosion in the classroom. Did he just have left an explosion tags on the desk?

x x x

"You're back," noticed Iruka as he entered the kitchen. He wanted to tell something about the fresh pile of dirty dishes in the sink, but Kakashi silenced him with a light kiss through the cloth of mask.

"I have a dinner for you. I have made it myself," he said, presenting a bowl with the miso soup to the chuunin. "I thought you might be too tired to do a dinner, so I wanted to help you a little."

"But you're just back from the mission…" Iruka scratched his neck, not sure if he understood correctly.

"Maa, no need to worry," the jounin shrugged his shoulders. "It was an easy B-rank, I am perfectly fine."

"First, the tea. And now this dinner. Everything's fine?"

"As I said, I wanted to be helpful. I figured out that everytime I'm home you always cook for me, help me with my wounds so I wanted to help you."

"But…"

"Please, just take a sit and eat while it's still warm."

Iruka sat at kitchen table, glancing at the bowl hesitantly. Kakashi was never keen on cooking, so he was not sure if, accidentally, there wasn't something still alive in the soup. Or maybe the eggplant wasn't boiled properly. The chuunin looked for anything, but couldn't find any fault. He gently broke the chopstick which Kakashi prepared for him and slowly tasted the miso.

He swallowed it down and blinked, surprised. The miso tasted eatable. Noodles were slightly overcooked. And there was too much pepper, but he could take it. The dishes in the sink were evidence that Kakashi was the one who prepared the dinner. Maybe he was a battle genius, but it wouldn't even enter his mind that leaving dirty dishes may help him pretend that he used them. Iruka looked around the kitchen and sighed. That was nice that Kakashi wanted to help him and made a dinner. But instead of spending time on cooking, Iruka would have to clean the mess Kakashi had left.

"It's tasty. I didn't expect you to make anything…" Iruka had to bite his tongue not to say something stupid. "Anything so complicated. You must have spent a lot of time in the kitchen, Kashi."

Iruka quickly finished a soup and got up to wash the dishes.

"Don't help," he said, seeing as Kakashi comes closer to him. "Just don't do anything. I can see the splinters of my favorite mug on the floor, so try not to hurt yourself."

The jounin sat on the chair defeated. He bent over the floor a little to feel Iruka patting him in the head. There was a huge silence between them. Kakashi looked as if he was deeply thinking about something. One look on his uncovered eye was enough to say he looked really concerned. What was the thing he has been wondering so intensively? Hardly ever he was that much involved in something that Iruka could see it that clearly.

"I've seen your report. Have you got something to say?" asked Iruka with a calm voice. Kakashi shivered unintentionally. He didn't like this tone.

"I heard that it is not nice to cause somebody more work with a sloppy reports I used to turn back."

"Oh. And what made you change your mind?" Iruka frowned his brows, watching him with curiosity. "I've been asking you to do it for years with no response. And c you please stop talking this way? I can't stand it…!"

"I have decided to work on myself, " said Kakashi with a small smirk visible through the mask. "And what is wrong with the way I talk?"

"You don't need to be so official with me. I'm your boyfriend, not some smart, distinguished client you have to escort to other country. I don't know what silly thing has come to your mind… It just… It doesn't really suit you."

"Why not? I am Hatake Kakashi, the last descendant of Hatake clan and I have the full rights to behave well."

Iruka blinked his eyes, shocked. The last time Kakashi had even mentioned his clan was long time ago, when someone wanted to buy Hatake compound. The Copy Nin would never want to live in his family house, but also didn't want anyone else to live there. That place was a silent sanctuary of his. Every spring he visited the compound to watch the blossoming sakura tree. Jounin didn't seem to be a sentimental person, but every year when the time of his parents birthdays or death anniversaries came, he spent there a long hours, staring at the neglected garden.

So if he had mentioned his clan, it started looking seriously. But why all of sudden? He had been never showing any interest in being the noble descendant of Hatake family. It didn't make sense. Kakashi for years successfully avoided the council who wanted him to find a wife and procreate a child. At least procreate to give them a powerful son.

"Don't misunderstand me, Kakashi. I just want to know if something had happened. You know that I love you they way you are, don't you? I don't need you to change."

Kakashi nodded blankly, looking away, making chuunin only shake his head resigned. Sometimes it was really troublesome to understand his lover. Especially when he was acting strange and more childish than his ten-years-old's students.

"I've told you. I'm going to be well-mannered. I know I can and I'm going to prove it with every word I say and every move I make," declared the jounin earnestly.

"Try not to use this idea during mission," Iruka gave him a nasty smile, putting a few wet plates on the dish drainer.

"I'm a capable shinobi and my manners have nothing to do with my missions!" protested Kakashi proudly.

"So what if you try to be polite to your enemy?" teased the chuunin. He wipe his hands in the dishcloth and looked at his lover contended. "I didn't expect you to be diplomatically talented… Who knows, maybe your manners help you solve problems without fight. Think of it…"

"Don't make a fun of me, Iruka…"

"Maybe I'll start teaching my students well manners instead of throwing a kunai?"

"Iruka…"

"They'll be excited, you know? Being shinobi is not only about fighting."

"Iruka, I warn you…"

"I'll teach them how to persuade an enemy to take a little break and drink a tea…"

One second Iruka was leaning against the kitchen cupboard and the next he was pinned to the floor with Kakashi's knee between his thighs.

"I've warned you," hissed Kakashi, glaring at him deadly. The chuunin squinted, amused. He uncovered his lover's face and slowly pulled out a tongue to lick jounin's lips. Iruka had an innocent blush on his face, but his dark eyes were far from innocence. Even if the jounin didn't have problem with self-control, Iruka teasing him gently was enough to make him lose control. He pressed his lips against chuunin's, trying to pull up his shirt. It was amazing feeling to have Iruka's smooth skin under his fingers. He was gasping for air when the chuunin removed his t-shirt and steal another kiss from him, just to push him to the ground and sit on his hips.

"You can't be well-mannered, Hatake, if you seduce me like that," informed Iruka, poking the jounin's nose. "Well-mannered people do it in bed with lights turn off and drawn curtains."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

The day in the mission room was terribly. It was Friday, the worst day of the week. The day when every shinobi wanted to give back his report as fast as it was possible and go get some drinks. Or spend the rest of the free time doing exactly nothing.

There was a long line in front of the desk and even with the door wide open, the room couldn't fit all of the waiting shinobi. Everyone was talking, laughing and gossiping quietly, but there was so many people that their voices mixed into one bothersome noise. The line seemed endless and Iruka had hard times trying to bear the headache.

Kakashi had his report back few days ago, so he showed up half an hour before closing the mission room only to wait for his lover. Everyone knew he always used to enter the room by the window and sat on the desk, nonchalantly putting a report in chuunin's hands so they were surprised that this time he entered by the door and greeted everyone with an eye-smile and polite _good morning. _It was kind of him even if it was already evening.

Genma let the senbon fall out of his mouth, Kotetsu stayed still with his hands still in the air, not noticing that he dropped the report on the desk. Tsunade, who appeared in the mission room, to give the chuunins new pile of documents almost had dropped the cup of sake at the sight of Kakashi. He wasn't late, he didn't complain about inactive waiting and he was just sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, reading his perverted book. The jounin didn't notice he was distracting phenomenon for everyone.

"Kakashi-san, do you have a report for us?" asked Izumo, looking at him suspiciously. He wasn't in the mission room when Kakashi had appeared last time so he didn't hear a new gossip about the Copy Nin.

"No, I just wait for Iruka-sensei. He's really angry when I'm late so don't want to annoy him," answered Kakashi with a gentle tone.

He continued reading as if he didn't feel the gimlet eyes of everyone around. Kakashi was always the one who appeared with dirty report when the door of the mission room was already locked and one of the desk chuunins was on his way back home.

The time in the mission room had stopped for a few minutes, but Hatake was too excited about new edition of his romance novel to notice. It took a moment before the situation in the room came back to normal. Everyone in Iruka's line was giving him the questioning looks, but he just shrugged, pretending that he didn't even know the jounin. With a warm smile he received the report from a Hyuuga jounin, only a little younger than himself.

"Thank you for your hard work, Yusuke-san," he looked through the report, nodding with approval. Yusuke's report was clear as always, carefully filled in and perfectly legible. He signed the report and put it into the right folder. "Feel tired? Morino-san wanted me to tell you to come to his office when you're back. He should still be there, so visit him if you're all right."

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei. I guess I'm fine, I've got only a few scratches. It must be important if he asked you, so I'll see him soon," the boy said with a smile and turned back to leave. The last thing he noticed before he left was the murderous intent in Kakashi's eye.

**xxx**

"You must be hungry. Sorry, I didn't bring you a lunch, like I did yesterday, but I didn't have the time. I've been training with the brats. Naruto was more knuckleheaded and stubborn than ever."

"They're kids, Kakashi. Not brats," Iruka corrected him and sighed, feeling the jounin's hand resting on his waist. He liked that gently touch, but he still felt a little embarrassed when Kakashi was touching him in public. "I had lunch in the Academy cafeteria, so don't worry. Ramen?"

"Sounds great. But I hope we won't meet Naruto today," he waved his hand, amused by the odd look on Iruka's face. "My wallet wouldn't stand it. He can eat ten bowls and still feel hungry."

"He's crazy about ramen. But when he's with me, he knows his limit. All I can say is that Naruto has subordinated you."

Kakashi seemed surprised by the comment, but didn't say anything, just walking beside Iruka. He put out Icha Icha, not wanting any villagers to ask him anything. He didn't want anyone to pay attention to him, but this book made people disgusted instead. How was that possible that the loyal shinobi of Konoha could read something like that just before their eyes? Even Iruka couldn't change this indecent habit.

They reached the ramen stand after few minutes of walk. Iruka smiled cheerfully to the owner and Kakashi just nodded a welcome.

"Pork ramen, please," asked Kakashi and sat on the stool, leaning his elbows on the table top.

"I'll have the same, please. I can't remember when I've eaten ramen last time." Iruka smiled, watching the old man preparing the food and closed his eyes slightly. The evening seemed nice, the walk and fresh air helped his headache and even Kakashi wasn't acting too strange. But Iruka couldn't be himself without saying something about the jounin's behaviour... "You know it's rude to keep your elbows on the table, don't you?"

The jounin put his elbows back to himself, but didn't answer. Maybe that comment was unnecessary, but Iruka couldn't help himself – one look on his sulky lover was enough to make the younger man laugh.

He didn't start eating yet, when Kakashi put the empty bowl down on the table. His mask was again in its place.

"It's not cultured to eat so fast, Kakashi. You look as if you haven't eaten for years," he said, breaking the chopsticks carefully. He didn't have to look at the jounin to know that he was more than startled. He hit a sore spot. Eating in the public places was uncommonly uncomfortable with Kakashi. He had always been doing it so fast that he couldn't even register the real taste of a dish. The Copy Nin had his reasons for not showing his face for the rest of the world, but Iruka thought it was just his childish stubbornness. Kakashi could be really obstinate sometimes. "And, you know… It's not healthy. You could choke or something. Imagine those headlines… The Great Sharingan Kakashi brutally murdered by bloodthirsty noodles!"

Kakashi didn't answer. But if the looks could kill, Iruka would already be six feet under.

"I'd like one more pork ramen…" he asked kindly.

"Looks like challenge…" Iruka muttered to himself, quietly enough for the jounin not to hear.

Kakashi was looking at the bowl for a few minutes before he started eating. Thankfully, they were the only customers so no one could see the mysterious jounin eating his ramen in the ridiculously funny way. Iruka was eating slowly, watching his lover in the corner of an eye. Kakashi seemed as focused as if he were on the battle fight, preparing final attack. But the sound he made a few seconds later showed that his strategy was far from ideal.

And actually… It was.

The jounin pulled the mask down for one little mouthful of ramen and then pulled it up quickly. He was waiting for a few seconds to repeat it until the bowl was empty. He looked proud and Iruka could say that he was smiling with satisfaction. The owner of the bar was looking at them without surprise. Everyone knew shinobi were strange people – they had strange kinks and liked silly bets in free time. He had heard a lot about challenges Kakashi had with Gai, so this meeting seemed quite normal.

"None of well-mannered people would let themselves get dirty like you did. Look at yourself, Kakashi… Your mask is all wet and it smells like ramen," Hatake's pride vanished into the air in one second when he heard his lover's words. He wanted to say something, but Iruka was continuing. "You're not a child to eat like that, don't you think?"

Kakashi peeked at him and then came back to contemplating a wall on his left side. He was looking as if he was calculating something in his mind. Iruka almost choked, hearing that the jounin had ordered the third ramen bowl. With every move he did, he was leading himself to the next disaster. He was trying to do everything slower, including taking of the mask and gently wiping off the soup from the corner of his lips. Everything when fine until Naruto appeared behind their backs with a loud scream.

"You're eating ramen without me!"

The half-empty bowl smashed into pieces on the floor, but – the most important thing, the mask, was again on Kakashi's face so that the boy couldn't see his face. Naruto was standing behind them, watching the two men with curiosity. He took a quick glance at the broken dish and gasped – how could anyone waste such a precious ramen? Kakashi didn't even seem guilty! The blonde kid wasn't really bright so he needed almost a minute of silence before it hit him with realization - Iruka must have seen the jounin's face! And then he realized that Iruka must have seen it more often because they were together.

Before he even had a chance to ask, Iruka put his hand on Kakashi's shoulder and sighed with a resignation.

"Sorry, Kakashi, but being careful is another thing you have to remember when it comes to behaving well," he said with a wry smile. "Teuchi-san, could you give us some cloth? Kakashi-kun is really sorry and he wants to clean up the mess he's done."


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's note: **

Wow. It took me more than three weeks to update. Bad me. But I had an exams and I couldn't write anything properly for next two weeks == Finally, here's a next chapter. I hope it won't take me that long to write another… Who knows. I'm not going to promise anything, I'm bad at promises xP This chapter is longer than earlier one so… I hope you'll enjoy it ^^

**Chapter III**

While Kakashi was out on a mission, Iruka could do everything without worrying about his envious lover. He didn't have to hurry with shopping and had time to meet few of his ex-students for lunch. He could spend hours grading tests or cooking without Kakashi trying to taste everything. Iruka thought Hatake was the only person who could destroy the kitchen without even trying to cook anything. Once he wanted to have a little taste of a soup and ended up with the boiling contents of the pot spilled all over himself.

Maybe Kakashi was a capable, powerful shinobi, but when he was home… He needed full Iruka's attention. Coming back from missions with varied injuries was one thing. His envy was the other. The chuunin couldn't be angry on him seeing his sad, gloomy face. Everytime he met someone, he tried to come back home as fast as it was possible. And he still had felt guilty. Kakashi just loved to spying on Iruka – not because he didn't trust him, just for the sake of his curiosity. He was desperate to know how does Iruka act when he's not around. But Kakashi kept forgetting about masking his chakra in Konoha, so the chuunin was aware of his presence.

He sighed heavily and put an empty can of beer away.

Saturdays without Kakashi felt strange. He couldn't focus on anything, knowing that the jounin was late from his mission. Again. Sometimes he just wanted to wind the time forward. Sometimes when Hatake was late he couldn't stop thinking that it's the end of their happiness. And this time Kakashi won't be so lucky to come back alive.

He was in the grocery store, looking distantly at the box of milk when Anko appeared behind his back. She had a bottle of sake in one hand and a crate of beer in the other. It was unusual to see him alone. Kakashi would follow him like a dog everytime he could. They'd ended up in the living room of his apartment with only two beers full left.

Anko was his friend for years. They used to be in the same team often and she had been helping him training for a chuunin exam. She was the first who discovered Iruka's feeling for Kakashi. He blushed deeply when she mentioned it during their training and fell down on the ground with her kunai at his throat.

"Kakashi seems odd lately." Anko laughed, taking the beer away of Iruka's hand. She drank all that was left in the can with a one sip. She giggled with no reason and leaned on his shoulder, tired.

"Hard not to notice. I have no idea what silly thing came to his mind, but I'm truly worried about it. It seems nice that he want to change… But it's so unnatural to hear him saying it's his duty to be always on time. I'm not sure when was the last time I've heard his lame excuses about being lost on the roads of life. He also told me the good sides of these changes. You know… for example… _Your enemy is not going to be late_… or _being on time makes you able to surprise the enemy,_ which is true in his case, but still…

"Oh. Sounds creepy," Anko interrupted him, looking at the shelf with Kakashi's collection of Icha Icha. "Maybe it's just a lack of sex?"

"Anko! Not everything is about sex!" he slapped her on the back, irritated.

"Why not, Iruka-chan? You worry for him... and I bet he's now pleasuring himself at the thought of you!"

"Anko…!" he hissed warningly, but she was continuing, not discouraged.

"You've never told me if he'd ever used sharingan in bed…"

"Good for him." a deep voice heard from the hallway made Iruka shudder. The chuunin turned his head to door and bit his lips at the sight of Kakashi. "But I can make you sure I can use my sharingan for a different purposes, _Anko-chan_."

"Kakashi-san? I thought you won't be back for next week…"

The jounin was trying to kill her with a look. He kept repeating to himself that he was going to be nice and it wasn't a big deal that she loved to talk about their sex life. Even if Anko was a close friend to Iruka, Kakashi detested when someone was interfering in the most private part of his life. And Anko… Sometimes he thought she was a witch. She always knew when they were making love. She also knew exactly which position they'd used. Or maybe she was just watching them secretly from the branch of the tree in front of their bedroom window? He'd been always saying that someone should cut that stalk.

"Sorry I've disappointed you." he said with a regretful tone. "I wonder why haven't you ever tried to pick me up with this big breast of yours. You seem really curious about abilities of my sharingan… It's really useful, you know…?"

"Kakashi… Please, stop teasing… She's just worry about me… And you…"

"I guess you're even more perverted than me, Anko-chan. Those snake techniques you use sounds really interesting. If you know what I mean…"

Anko was fast enough to pin him up against the wall, but Kakashi was stronger and after a few seconds they roles reversed and the kunoichi was the one who wasn't able to move. He twisted her wrists behind her back and smiled behind his mask. Maybe she was a tokubetsu jounin, but with her hands blocked she couldn't do anything to Hatake.

"Don't you dare say anything about my techniques!" she growled at him with anger in her eyes. Bad Copy-Nin hit her sore spot.

"And why is that?" Kakashi asked sneeringly. Normally calm jounin was still in his mission mood. "I'll stop talking about rare way of using your jutsus as soon as you've stopped wondering about me being sex-starved. Deal?"

"But everyone knows…"

"Catch me red-handed and I won't say a word" he pretended not to notice Iruka behind his back, but when Kakashi felt younger's man hand on his shoulder, he slapped him gently. "Don't interfere. You both smell an alcohol. Now, Anko, could you leave us, please? We've got a few things to discuss with Iruka."

Iruka opened his mouth to say something, but the jounin ignored him, leading Anko to the door. The younger man thought he was the one who was going to have _the talk_ with Kakashi. Instead of it there was a long discussion before him. Or monologue. About privacy. Kakashi was good at monologues.

**xxx**

"Kakashi-san! I haven't see you for awhile. Were you out on a mission with the kids?"

Kakashi turned around to see Kurenai poking him gently in the back. He nodded, gave her an eye-smile and went back to staring at the shelves in the grocery store, confused. He had a list in his hand, but there was only a few things in the basket he was holding. The jounin looked lost – he took some jar from the shelf, read the label at the packing carefully and then put it back as if he didn't know what to do with it. For Kurenai, the majority of men would feel lost, just like Kakashi did.

"Um… Kurenai? You're here, so… can you help me a little?"

A kunoichi only smiled and took the list from him to see what's on it.

"Iruka-sensei sent you here? He must have been really desperate… I'd never ask Asuma to go shopping, the only things he know how to buy are cigarettes and sake."

"Don't laugh at me," the jounin look at her and pouted. "I only wanted to help him"

"I'm not laughing!" she had to cover her lips, trying to stay serious. "I bet Iruka appreciates your help. So… I see you've founded only a few products…"

Kakashi was looking with wide eyes as Kurenai pick the products, quickly reminding him to always look at the expiry date. He nodded, Iruka was saying it everytime he bought something out of date, but he would never remember. The kunoichi explained a difference between few kinds of rice to him, but he didn't show any signs of understanding. He was just staring at her with disbelief, wondering how did she know which flour is better for an apple pie. She also put back the apples he had chosen, saying that those less wipe are better. She wanted to explain him everything, but seeing his confused face made her only sigh and lead him to the cash.

"You shouldn't have wait for me." Kakashi said few minutes later when he left the shop to see Kurenai waiting patiently beside the door.

"Don't worry. I only wanted to talk a little."

Kakashi mumbled something in answer and took out the book from his vest, listening to a woman mildly interested. She wanted to make sure he managed with the kids and asked what did he think about Naruto not getting along well with Sasuke. He answered briefly, but Kurenai seemed satisfied with it. Looking around, he wondered why everyone were watching him outraged. They should have already get used to his Icha Icha. He'd been reading it for years!

"They both need a real friend… They're so different, but everyone knows that opposites attract each other. They can learn a lot from each other."

"I want them to know what teamwork and friendship is. Maybe I'm not the best example of it, but… Even though it's hard, I try to teach them about it. Sadly, Sasuke thinks really high of himself. And Naruto… He's a kind of dumb sometimes…"

"Yeah, he must be really dumb running after Sakura, not seeing how Hinata always look at him enchanted," there was a slight tone of irony in her voice, but Kakashi knew that she cared for his team as if they were hers.

"Even I've noticed and I'm not the brightest one when it comes to feelings."

"Right. All the geniuses have problems with noticing it."

He snorted quietly, but didn't say anything to defend himself. There was one think he had always hated about women. They were always right. So he didn't protested. After all, it took him two years to go out with Iruka. He had no idea how did he found the courage to ask this the hot-tempered chuunin out.

"Look! Iruka-sensei's coming!" she noticed cheerfully, pulling his sleeve and pointing at the chuunin coming exactly in their direction.

"Hello… I see you've found my lost jounin, Kurenai-san. Oh, may I help you with this?" Iruka smiled warmly and took her bags in hands before she had time to answer. "Did he make any trouble to you?"

"You don't have to… I can carry it by myself…"

"But I'm a man, I can't leave a woman with heavy bags. I know you're strong kunoichi, but sometimes you should let men doing their job. Right, Kakashi?"

The jounin stared at him questioning. He didn't understand a word, but a hard look Iruka gave him was enough to make Kakashi nod eagerly. He wanted to say something when they turned in opposite direction than their apartment was, but stayed quiet. No one would notice his protest as long as Iruka and Kurenai were busy talking about kids and their impressive progress. Kakashi didn't understand their jokes and didn't think the brats were cute. They were unpredictable and terrifying sometimes, but definitely not cute.

After a few minutes of walk Kurenai left them, entering the building. Iruka watched her disappearing in the doorway before he ran his eyes over the jounin with a wry smile. He caught the jounin's arm to turn around.

"Who taught you how to treat women? Don't you know it's impolite to let a woman carry heavy bags by herself, honey?"

"Why should I? She's a kunoichi! And she's got Asuma to carry her bags. And after all, I'm a gay!"

"No, Kashi. First of all, you're a man. And she's your friend for God's sake! You can't just leave her! You're not a sissy, a bag with vegetables won't hurt you. I guess she was the one who helped you with shopping and you, my bright, powerful Copy-Nin, haven't even thought of helping her." Iruka was watching him for a few seconds and then took the bags from his hands and moved ahead.

"I'm not a sissy!" screamed Kakashi, running after him. "Withdraw it!" he grabbed Iruka by the collar of his vest, but the younger man didn't slow down. "Don't call me a sissy!"

It took Kakashi a while to realise that everyone around were looking at them confused. Did he scream it that loud…?

**xxx**

"It's not Kaka-sensei. Just a clone" noticed Sasuke bluntly. He didn't even dodge four shurikens heading in his direction.

Sakura gasped, terrified. She wanted to say something, warn him, do anything… But nothing had happened. Shurikens disappeared in a puff of smoke in a contact with a boy's body.

"Sasuke-kun! You're so smart!" she sighed with relief, seeing that he's alright. The girl just loved to watch Sasuke during their training. Sakura was happy that she was the lucky one who had a chance to be in the same genin-team as Uchiha boy. But watching him often ended really badly for her – she didn't focus on her own abilities. How could she when she had Sasuke so close and she could watch every move of his?

"Hn." the boy didn't share her enthusiasm. He brushed off an invisible dust from his shirt an looked up.

"Sakura-chan? Watch out!" Naruto was too far to push her aside when chakra strings tied her arms and legs. A blonde caught her before she fall down, worried. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan? Nothing's hurt you?"

She blinked an eyes, not sure if she understood what had just happened. One moment she was observing Sasuke and the next… She was in Naruto's arms. Sakura started to struggle in his arms, but she was tied so no matter how hard she tried, it wasn't effective at all.

Kakashi appeared from nowhere, sitting on the branch of the tree with nose in his orange novel. He shook his head with an amazement.

"Lunch time, kids. A shinobi has to pay attention on surroundings. Someone could attack you from behind while you were carelessly staring at Sasuke."

"Sensei, don't be unkind to Sakura-chan…" Naruto looked at him with reproach."We're only training… We're not even chuunins yet!"

"Oh, and you'll never be, if you're going to look at each other with admiration instead of watching your back."

Sasuke said nothing to defend her, just sat in the shadow of a tree and pull out a bento box from his backpack. A pink-haired kunoichi looked offended, but Kakashi was too busy with his book to notice. Ha had just got a new volume of Icha Icha Paradise series and couldn't take an eyes off it. The storyline was fabulous. Really exciting, too bad that his sensei didn't agree with him. There was a few scenarios he wanted to check out, but Iruka would never let him…

"Let me out!" hissed Sakura, vainly trying to break Kakashi's chakra strings.

She didn't even thank Naruto when the jounin finally released her. A girl was blushing slightly, looking really angry when Kakashi jumped down on the ground. Firstly, she wanted to hit him in the stomach, but he stopped her with a hand. Another attempt and she was laying on the grass, feeling dizzy.

"So? Do you still think you can get distracted by Sasuke?" asked Kakashi skeptically.

"I'm not distracted!"

"And I'm not wearing a mask," the jounin rolled his eyes amused. "It's not about me making fun of you. It's because I care about the three of you and it's about your life. It's hard to get rid of bad habits."

"I can take care of myself! You, men, always thinks you're the strongest! But you know what? There was a lot of powerful women in the history!"

Kakashi looked at her, not sure what to say. What was that all about? Why did she started to be hysterical? He didn't even mention the fact she's a girl.

"But you're not even a woman yet. So be kind and obey my requests and advices. I'm here to teach you and you're my subordinates now."

"I'm a woman! You're so cold-hearted, Kaka-sensei! All you think about are missions and ranks, and strength, and…"

She didn't finish. She looked at him insulted and run away trough the training grounds, not even saying goodbye. Naruto was the only one who stood up, ready to go after a girl. He looked at Kakashi and spluttered.

"You're cold-hearted old prick, Kaka-sensei!" he copied the girl's words and left the jounin bewildered.

Sasuke shrugged it off, not interested. Training seemed over, but he could stay and finish his lunch there. Who knows, maybe Kakashi could work with him a little? He wanted to improve his skills, but it was difficult with Naruto fooling around and Sakura adoring everything he was doing.

"I guess this time I'm the one who's late," his old Academy sensei appeared at the edge of the forest and scratched his nose, a little perplexed. "I've bring you bento, but as I see, you already have time for a regular dinner."

Sasuke bowed a head to greet him and turned back to his lunch.

"I've heard your little fight with Sakura. Do you remember what I've told you about treating women yesterday? No one ask you to praise them as long as you're gay, but you have to remember that most of women are squeamish and touchy. She's in your team so you have to understand how to treat her with respect, not hurting her feelings. What if she hates every man in the world now? Kami, you're so insensitive."


End file.
